New Delhi:

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will embark on a six-day visit to the UK and Ireland beginning Tuesday to explore ways to further boost bilateral cooperation.

S Jaishankar will first travel to London to hold talks with his British counterpart David Lammy on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues.

It will be interesting to see whether S Jaishankar and David Lammy discuss the Ukraine conflict as their meeting comes against the backdrop of the heated exchanges between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that drew global attention.

Two days after the rare clash between Trump and Zelenskyy, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted a summit with European leaders in London and vowed to work towards a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

S Jaishankar and David Lammy are also expected to touch upon the ambitious India-UK free trade deal, people familiar with the matter said.

Late last month, India and the UK relaunched talks on the proposed deal during the visit to New Delhi of British Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.

“India and the UK share a comprehensive strategic partnership, which has strengthened across diverse areas including defence and security, trade and economy, health, education, people-to-people ties,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, announcing S Jaishankar’s visit.

It said besides David Lammy, the external affairs minister will meet several dignitaries as well as Indian community members.

S Jaishankar will be meeting with his Irish counterpart Simon Harris, other dignitaries and members of the Indian community, during his visit to Ireland from March 6-7, the MEA said in a statement.

The external affairs minister’s visit will provide renewed impetus to India’s friendly ties with both the UK and Ireland, it said.

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